Pearson Denies ‘The Financial Times’ Is for Sale

by Christopher Freeburn | November 7, 2012 10:46 am

Pearson Denies ‘The Financial Times’ Is for Sale

[1]Pearson (NYSE:PSO[2]), the U.K. publishing firm that owns The Financial Times, has publicly denied a report[3] from Bloomberg News that said the venerable newspaper, famed for its pink pages, is up for sale.

The disputed report said Pearson was contemplating potential bids for the paper in the wake of Marjorie Scardino’s decision to step down as CEO, The New York Times noted. Scardino will be succeeded as CEO by John Fallon, who headed the company’s education unit.

In a statement, Pearson said that while it didn’t normally respond to rumors about its business, the Bloomberg report was “wrong.”

Analysts say The Financial Times has markedly slower growth than Pearson’s education business. According to the Bloomberg report, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA[4]) were among possible suitors for The Financial Times.

Shares of Pearson fell more than 1% in Wednesday morning trading in New York.